John Davidson is on the Hook in 'Finding Neverland'

Thursday

Aug 3, 2017 at 7:00 AM

By R. Scott Reedy, Correspondent

At the turn of the 20th century, prolific American theatrical producer Charles Frohman made stars of actresses like Ethel Barrymore and promoted nascent playwrights, including J.M. Barrie, the Scotsman who wrote “Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.”

Actor John Davidson is savoring his dual roles playing both the impresario and “Peter Pan’s” villainous Captain Hook in “Finding Neverland,” the Broadway musical beginning a two-week run at the Boston Opera House on Aug. 8. Its story, based on the 2004 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, dramatizes Barrie’s professional relationship with the producer, and how a young widow inspires him to become the writer he wants to be.

“Having these two roles in ‘Finding Neverland’ reminds me of playing Harold Hill in ‘The Music Man,’ which I enjoyed so much that I did it three different times on tour,” said Davidson. “The songs are wonderful, the story of how Barrie met the family that inspired ‘Peter Pan’ is very sweet, and Diane Paulus, and the entire creative team, have made sure the whole production is just magical.”

“Finding Neverland” is directed by Paulus, the artistic director at Cambridge’s American Repertory Theater where it was performed in 2014. The music and lyrics for “Finding Neverland,” which went on to Broadway in 2015, are by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, with book by James Graham.

With the national tour, Davidson will be following in some famous footsteps. Dustin Hoffman is remembered as the dastardly Hook in the film version, Worcester native Michael McGrath played the dual roles in a 2014 pre-Broadway run at the ART, and Kelsey Grammer took them to Broadway the following spring.

Davidson, the son of two Baptist ministers, has long been familiar with life on the road. Born in Pittsburgh, the singer, actor and television personality moved to West Bridgewater at age 5 when his father became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Brockton.

“We lived at 294 East Street in West Bridgewater. I’ll never forget that address, because those were important years in my life when I made some lasting friendships,” recalled Davidson by telephone recently from a Dallas tour stop.

“I used to help my brother, Porter, with his paper route. We delivered the Brockton Enterprise to about 50 or 60 homes in the area, which was a big deal for us. When I was 14, we moved to White Plains, New York, where I took a lot of ribbing about my Boston accent.”

Just a few years later, it would be Davidson’s singing voice that would be getting the attention. After earning his BFA from Ohio’s Denison University, Davidson made an early name for himself in feature films like Disney’s “The Happiest Millionaire” and TV sitcoms including “The Girl with Something Extra,” which co-starred Sally Field.

It was also during this time that he found his way to the New York stage and met one of the two show-business giants who is inspiring his current portrayal.

“Frohman played a very big role in Barrie’s professional life. With that in mind, I use two people who were very important to my career: Jerry Weintraub, who was my manager for many years, and David Merrick,” explained Davidson.

“In 1964, David Merrick produced my first Broadway show, a musical called ‘Foxy,’ in which I played the juvenile male lead. Merrick was very busy that year with ‘Hello, Dolly!’ but he always had time for me and was complimentary about my work. Years later, in 1996, he came into ‘State Fair,’ which had an out-of-town run at the Wang Theatre in Boston, to open it on Broadway.

“Merrick was very sick at the time and in a wheelchair, but he remembered me from 30 years before and was once again very kind. It ended up being his last Broadway show, and it’ll probably be mine, too.”

Whether or not the famously dimpled Davidson makes it back to Broadway may depend on his still-busy schedule. He played the Wizard of Oz in the North American tour of “Wicked” that came to the Boston Opera House in 2013, and has done recent concert dates at TCAN - The Center for Arts in Natick and Club Passim in Cambridge. He joined the “Finding Neverland” tour in June.

“These are the kinds of roles I’ve wanted to play for a long time. I loved doing ‘Wicked,’ but I was only on stage for 18 minutes. In this one, I appear throughout. I don’t like to play shy characters, either, so Frohman is perfect for me. And Captain Hook is so over the top, I can chew the scenery,” he said.

“With Captain Hook, you have to command the stage from the moment you appear. Hook is definitely the darker, politically incorrect side of Barrie – the side none of us wants to show. I’m playing him as a little demented and a little out of control,” said Davidson, who calls upon another legend for the inspiration to play the nefarious pirate.

“I think of the great Cyril Ritchard, who played Hook in the Mary Martin production of ‘Peter Pan,’ every time I get into that costume. He was just brilliant.”

Davidson, who found TV fame as a frequent fill-in for Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” and as host of his own eponymous talk show, plus “That’s Incredible!” “The New Hollywood Squares” and “The $100,000 Pyramid,” will be on the road with “Finding Neverland” through next May, joined by his wife and traveling companion, Rhonda.

The couple – whose daughter, Ashleigh Reade, is a Boston Conservatory graduate who now teaches voice and speech at Harvard, and whose son-in-law, Chris Reade, is an assistant vice president and dean of campus life at Berklee College of Music – recently moved from the Berkshires to a 23-acre property in the lakes region of New Hampshire. But Davidson has no plans to retire there or anywhere.

“Sometimes it shocks me that I’m 75, usually when I’m getting out of bed the morning after a two-show day. But I’ll never retire. Life without passion is no life at all.

“I set out on this career more than 50 years ago and I’m really grateful and proud to still be at it. I don’t think I’ve done my best show yet, either, so I’ve got to keep going until I get it right,” he says.